Friday, September 12, 2014

How could a vote to boycott Israel pass at the City University of New York?

Pro-Israel student activists and others accuse CUNY’s Doctoral Students’ Council (DSC)
of intentionally trying to silence opposition to the measure by holding
the vote at a day and time not amenable to many who would speak out
against the divestment resolution.

The vote was quietly publicized
earlier this week only among its supporters, spurring accusations that
the DSC is attempting to ram through the divestment measure without
input from pro-Israel voices, according to sources who were only made
aware of the situation after an internal DSC email about the vote was
leaked.

The DSC, a student body group that claims to represent popular
opinion, first informed its members of the upcoming vote last Friday,
Sept. 5, according to a copy of the email message obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Dominique Nisperos, the DSC’s co-chair for communications, informed
members that no materials about the resolution would be handed out, a
decision that has raised concerns among critics.

“In the interest of being environmentally friendly, we will not
provide printed copies of the attached documents at the meeting,” the
email said, urging members to “solicit input” from other students about
the resolution. “Please arrange to have electronic or paper copies of
these materials for your reference at the meeting.”

This is the second time that the DSC will put forth a divestment
resolution, which is part of a larger campaign by anti-Israel activists
on campus to further the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)
movement, which seeks to wage an economic and cultural war on the Jewish
state. DSC attempted to pass such a resolution in May.

The DSC resolution seeks to enact a boycott of Israeli universities and companies, according to a copy of the measure obtained by the Free Beacon. Critics call the move an insult to free speech and an attempt to discriminate against Israel.

“They have not been particularly forthcoming about it,” said one
student who requested anonymity due to the heightened tensions
surrounding such votes on campus. “They haven’t made much of an effort
to tell the students what they’re doing.”

The date and time of the vote also “suggests they’re basically
hijacking a false mandate that they claim to have of representing the
students, and unfortunately there’s nobody countering it,” the student
said. “The fact it’s going to be this Friday night, and so little time
to give people warning of this meeting, makes it difficult for many to
come, particularly because of Shabbat. Friday night is not a popular
time for being on campus.”

CUNY is not the first university where this kind of foilershtick has been tried either.

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 12 to 33 years and eight grandchildren. Three of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com